Friday, April 13, 2012

The season is barely a week old and we're already getting a rerun? What's happening?! I thought it was sweeps!

Clayton Richard's dominant start last Sunday has been the only hiccup in the Dodgers' red hot 2012 start, so maybe they can get a little revenge tonight. It would be nice if Harang could go the distance, keeping the game out of the hands of the...ahem...less reliable relievers, and giving Javy Guerra a much needed day off. Javy's 5 saves in 5 tries is great and all, but we'd like to keep his arm from falling off before May.

As of this writing, it's been dumping down rain in L.A. all day (It does happen!), threatening to wash out the first Friday Night Fireworks of the year. (Look for more hilarious attendance jokes on Twitter...if the game itself isn't postponed.) I guess it's up to the Dodger bats to light up the night. With only one home run from someone not named Kemp or Ethier so far, we're due for some big blasts. Maybe from James Loney, who finally broke through with a hi... HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! Sorry, I couldn't finish that thought with a straight face.

WILMINGTON, Del. — A bankruptcy court judge in Delaware agreed Friday to the Los Angeles Dodgers' plan to sell the team for $2 billion, setting the team up to exit bankruptcy.

The decision by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross came at the conclusion of a two-part morning and evening hearing he called a "doubleheader."

The judge approved Dodgers owner Frank McCourt's plan to sell the team to Guggenheim Baseball Management, a group that includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson. Mark Walter, chief executive officer of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, would become the controlling owner, and the team would be run by former Atlanta Braves president Stan Kasten.

Both Kasten and McCourt were in court Friday. The sale is set to close by April 30, the day McCourt is to make a $131 million payment to former wife Jamie as part of their divorce.

The Dodgers entered bankruptcy in June 2011 during a bitter dispute with Major League Baseball. At the time, baseball Commissioner Bud Selig refused to approve a new TV deal with Fox Sports that the team was counting on in order to make payroll and keep the franchise solvent.

After the bankruptcy filing, Selig's attorneys successfully fought to force the Dodgers to accept bankruptcy financing from Major League Baseball. The team and league reached an agreement last year authorizing the team's sale and a process to market the media rights to games starting in 2014.

Friday's hearing helped resolve a number of lingering issues ahead of the team's sale. Fox, the team's current broadcaster, had wanted written assurance that competitor Time Warner Cable was not contributing funds being used for the purchase. Lawyers for the Dodgers agreed to do that.

Friday's hearing dragged into the evening, however, as lawyers for the Dodgers and Major League Baseball sparred over the information being given to the league about the plan. A lawyer for Major League Baseball said the league has issues with the plan and is owed more information. A Dodgers lawyer said the team has met all the criteria to have the plan confirmed, and the judge agreed.